Abstract
Gender has been strongly associated with risk judgement and attitude. Many studies have found that men tend to judge risks as smaller and less problematic than women. The purpose of this paper was to compare the awareness and attitude of the Malaysian public towards three applications of biotechnology; i.e. genetically modified (GM) soybean, GM palm oil, and GM insulin; across gender. A survey was carried out on 1017 respondents from various interest groups in the Klang Valley region. Results of the study showed that females were found to have significantly higher awareness level and familiarity with GM soybean but not with GM palm oil and GM insulin. The females were also more trusting towards the scientists, government and industries but there were no differences in biotechnology knowledge, engagement levels, general promise, general concern, impact of technology and religiosity. Even though the males professed to have lower familiarity with GM soybean, they tend to perceive less risks, more benefits and more supportive of GM soybean. There was no significant difference in the familiarity of GM insulin, and both genders were more in agreement in their opinion of GM palm oil, the moral aspects of all three surveyed biotechnology applications, risk acceptance of GM soybean and encouragement of GM insulin.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 2-7 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Journal of Food, Agriculture and Environment |
| Volume | 12 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Publication status | Published - 2014 |
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Keywords
- Awareness
- Gender
- Modern biotechnology
- Public attitude
- Risk perception
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Food Science
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences (miscellaneous)
- Environmental Science(all)
Cite this
Gender effect on awareness and attitude toward genetically modified foods and medicine. / Amin, Latifah; Hassan, Zaharah; Ibrahim, Maznah; Ibrahim, Rozita.
In: Journal of Food, Agriculture and Environment, Vol. 12, No. 1, 2014, p. 2-7.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Gender effect on awareness and attitude toward genetically modified foods and medicine
AU - Amin, Latifah
AU - Hassan, Zaharah
AU - Ibrahim, Maznah
AU - Ibrahim, Rozita
PY - 2014
Y1 - 2014
N2 - Gender has been strongly associated with risk judgement and attitude. Many studies have found that men tend to judge risks as smaller and less problematic than women. The purpose of this paper was to compare the awareness and attitude of the Malaysian public towards three applications of biotechnology; i.e. genetically modified (GM) soybean, GM palm oil, and GM insulin; across gender. A survey was carried out on 1017 respondents from various interest groups in the Klang Valley region. Results of the study showed that females were found to have significantly higher awareness level and familiarity with GM soybean but not with GM palm oil and GM insulin. The females were also more trusting towards the scientists, government and industries but there were no differences in biotechnology knowledge, engagement levels, general promise, general concern, impact of technology and religiosity. Even though the males professed to have lower familiarity with GM soybean, they tend to perceive less risks, more benefits and more supportive of GM soybean. There was no significant difference in the familiarity of GM insulin, and both genders were more in agreement in their opinion of GM palm oil, the moral aspects of all three surveyed biotechnology applications, risk acceptance of GM soybean and encouragement of GM insulin.
AB - Gender has been strongly associated with risk judgement and attitude. Many studies have found that men tend to judge risks as smaller and less problematic than women. The purpose of this paper was to compare the awareness and attitude of the Malaysian public towards three applications of biotechnology; i.e. genetically modified (GM) soybean, GM palm oil, and GM insulin; across gender. A survey was carried out on 1017 respondents from various interest groups in the Klang Valley region. Results of the study showed that females were found to have significantly higher awareness level and familiarity with GM soybean but not with GM palm oil and GM insulin. The females were also more trusting towards the scientists, government and industries but there were no differences in biotechnology knowledge, engagement levels, general promise, general concern, impact of technology and religiosity. Even though the males professed to have lower familiarity with GM soybean, they tend to perceive less risks, more benefits and more supportive of GM soybean. There was no significant difference in the familiarity of GM insulin, and both genders were more in agreement in their opinion of GM palm oil, the moral aspects of all three surveyed biotechnology applications, risk acceptance of GM soybean and encouragement of GM insulin.
KW - Awareness
KW - Gender
KW - Modern biotechnology
KW - Public attitude
KW - Risk perception
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M3 - Article
VL - 12
SP - 2
EP - 7
JO - Journal of Food, Agriculture and Environment
JF - Journal of Food, Agriculture and Environment
SN - 1459-0255
IS - 1
ER -